


mr. know-it-all (had his reign and his fall)

by pretendimstraight



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Billy Hargrove Tries to Be a Better Person, Billy wants to believe that he hates Steve Harrington, Denial of Feelings, Feelings, It's Not much but There was an Attempt, M/M, Slurs, a lot of tension and a lot of flirting, but then again-- Who Doesn't??, confusion about feelings, tommy has the hots for steve
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-03-22 19:19:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13770807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pretendimstraight/pseuds/pretendimstraight
Summary: Billy had always thought that Steve Harrington was 'off'.There was just something about him that set him apart in a way that he could never find the words to describe. Maybe it was because everyone treated him like royalty, even though he acted nothing like the king of the school. Maybe it was because he caught Steve hiding a group of kids in a creepy little house with weird drawings covering the walls. Maybe it was because he had watched Steve’s face heal but he still seemed so broken.It was like there was something wrong, just underneath the surface where no one could see.





	1. (i'm sorry that) you never made it

Billy slowly found himself developing a love-hate relationship with the shithole town of Hawkins, Indiana.

He loved being popular, loved having people look at him in awe wherever he went. Back in California, he was just another wannabe cool kid, but here, surrounded by ignorant assholes without any personality, all people wanted was to impress him. There was no more ‘wannabe’, he was the cool kid here, and all the attention made him feel amazing.

He also loved that the girls here were all desperate as hell to get someone in their pants, and the boys around spat out ‘fag’ and ‘fairy’ like the slurs were going out of style. The circumstances helped him fit in nicely; it made it a lot easier to act like the normal, straight son that his father wanted him to be when all the boys around were homophobic dipshits.

He loved that Hawkins was small enough that if Billy came to school with too many bruises, the nosy ass teachers were bound to notice and ask questions, so his dad is forced to tone it down when he slaps him around. He really doesn’t miss having to come up with bullshit to explain split lips, black eyes and bruised ribs every other week or so.

On the other hand, he hated Hawkins because it was filled with farms and smelled like shit, literal shit, all the time instead of good food or the ocean.

He hated Hawkins because the people here were boring, just like carbon copies of any movie’s high school stereotypes. There’s no drag scene, or fun bars to sneak off to, and it’s way too easy to get booze so the challenge of being a ‘rebel child’ has disappeared. The parties are the same things over and over again, every weekend. There’s nothing new or exciting, outside of Billy himself.

The only person that really caught his eye in town was Steve Harrington.

The guy was annoyingly pretty, and it pissed him off monumentally. That, and he kept acting like he wasn’t sure about how he felt about Billy. He wasn’t totally rude to him and didn’t seem like he was trying to hide from him, but he also wasn’t particularly nice to him or trying to be around him either. Even when Billy kicked his ass in that ratty little house, he had tried to be nice about the situation for as long as he could, to keep it from being a fight. Harrington just had a weird habit of always being where he shouldn’t, in Billy’s eyes. He hated that all of that just made Steve seem more interesting and appealing in his mind instead of making him hate him. 

Steve had been popular at one point, he’d gathered that much from all the digging he’d done after seeing him at that Halloween party. Though, for as long as Billy had come to this school, Steve had been walking around like he was one lonely son of a bitch. Even when he had that Nancy chick on his arm, he always seemed like he was lonely, like seeing a king without all of his men. Now that she’s with the weird, pot-dealer lookin’ guy, Steve walks around with his head down and hands in his pockets, looking even more detached to his surroundings. He walks around with that kicked puppy look in his eyes, even when it’s not even directed at anyone.

It’s like the idiot somehow doesn’t know that people are constantly talking about him and wanting his attention.

“Harrington used to be king of the school. He’s a dumb asshole; that’s who he is. We used to be, like, best friends, but, like, he’s a huge douche! He ditched us for Wheeler even though that bitch didn’t even want him around like we did-” That kid with the freckles, Tommy or whatever, had a lot to tell him when he asked about ‘who the hell the kid with big hair’ was, and he hasn’t shut up about Steve since.

That explained enough; Harrington looked like a douche, but Billy can’t really blame him for wanting to ditch this kid at the first chance he got. Billy is eighty-five percent sure that Tommy is kind of gay, or at least, kind of in love with Steve. It’s like the kid does nothing but talk about the guy, make out with his whore of a girlfriend, tack idiotic add-ons to everyone’s insults and ask too many personal questions.

“I wonder if Steve’s gonna be at Angie’s party this weekend. Maybe he’ll get drunk enough and let someone other than Nancy show him a good time for once,” Billy overheard some short chick in his history class say to the girl next to her, smirking like some villain about to twirl their mustache as she plotted to steal Harrington’s ‘virtue’.   

Billy almost snorted when he heard that one. He’s been to almost every party since he’s arrived here, and Steve has only ever been at that first one. He’s spent many a drunken night looking for floppy hair and ray bans in the crowd in hopes of something, anything.  There’s a fire between him and Steve that he can’t deny. The guy makes his blood boil for reasons he can’t really explain besides shouting into the void that Steve’s pretty and it pisses him off.

Steve Harrington doesn’t deserve to be pretty. He doesn’t deserve his big, brown eyes or his thick, perfectly falling hair. He doesn’t deserve the privilege of buying those fucking jeans that aren’t as tight as Billy’s but still make his dick look huge and his ass look mouthwatering. It’s not fair, goddamn it, and it bothers Billy to no end.

“Is Steve gonna be at Will’s house later? I made him a friendship bracelet and I- Because I wanted to make him one. Now answer the ques- The reason doesn’t concern you, Henderson! Will he be there or not?” He heard Max whisper-shout over her stupid walkie-talkie.

Billy knows for a fact at this point that Maxine most definitely has a crush on Harrington. Sure, she has that thing with the Sinclair kid or whatever, but she is still a middle school girl, and middle school girls have tons of crushes. She always smiles real big when she sees Steve in the parking lot, and she had Susan help her make brownies after that night at the Byers’ as an “apology for Billy’s behavior” since he’s too “stubborn and stupid to just apologize already”. She really can’t say shit because she aggressively told him not to tag along when she ended up giving them to Steve anyway so how was he supposed to apologize?

She always calls over to make sure that Steve is going to be at the party’s lame D&D meetings before telling Billy to drive her there, and honestly? He can’t blame her.

He wouldn’t want to have to sit through that unless there was a pretty face involved.

Somewhere deep in the neglected thought pile in his brain, Billy thinks it’s kind of funny that him and Max both think that’s Steve’s attractive. He ignores that thought every time it decides to make an appearance, just like he tries to do with every thought revolving around Steve Harrington.

Thoughts like that are going to do nothing but hurt him in the end, and they serve no good purpose. Thinking about Steve Harrington’s pretty smile that he caught a glimpse of when he was dancing at that party just makes his head hurt. Thinking about Steve Harrington’s back against his bare skin in gym, their chests heaving and Steve panting with the exertion of the game they were playing, is going to give him nothing but blue balls. Thinking about breaking a plate over Steve Harrington’s head before trying to make his skull cave in just makes him hate himself a little bit more than he thought he could.

Which is surprising, to say the least.

Billy’s never felt like shit after kicking someone’s ass before, why does he suddenly have to gain a sense of remorse with Steve fucking Harrington?

It made him sick to look at Steve and see fading bruises, and fresh fear in his eyes wherever he went. It made his head spin when Steve handed the coach a paper saying that he was too concussed to risk further injury in gym. He played harder than usual that day, pushing and shoving and hogging the ball as much as he pleased. He remembers glancing over at Steve, who was sitting on the bleachers throughout the duration of class and tried not to grimace whenever he looked back up at him.

He heard some of his teammates whispering about how the sudden increase in aggression out of Billy was probably because he couldn’t beat up on Steve anymore, so he took it out on them, which wasn’t here nor there.

After a few weeks of tense glances between the two of them while Steve was benched, he decided to try and make amends, hoping that maybe Steve wouldn’t seem so afraid all the time if Billy told him that he wasn’t planning on smashing his face in again anytime soon. He yelled for him as he was walking away from the gym one day, both despising and relishing in the way Steve froze immediately.

Billy caught up with him quickly, standing a few feet in front of him and crossing his arms over his sweaty chest. “Hey Harrington, can I talk to you for a sec?” he asked.

Steve just stared at him for a minute, squinting like he was trying to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. His eyes dragged down Billy’s body and he suppressed the urge to squirm under the guy’s, way too intrusive, gaze. He shrugged after a moment, “Of course, anything for my new team captain, right?”

“Yeah sorry ‘bout that, Coach didn’t talk to me about it beforehand or anything,” Billy said with a shrug of his own, “Also, sorry about your face. I went a bit overboard, I’ll admit.”

He tried to look at anything other than Steve’s face. The mixes of green and yellow and pale skin made him feel too many things. Steve didn’t seem to have any problem with looking at Billy though. His eyes were wide, and it felt like they were trying to see right into Billy’s brain. He kept glancing all around Billy’s face as though there was something he was looking for. One of those traitorous thoughts flitted to the front of his consciousness, wondering if all those wide-eyed looks from Steve were actually fear or if they were, maybe, something else. He pushed that one back down where it belonged.

“It’s cool, Hargrove. I deserved it.” Steve said, his voice nonchalant and the gentle kind of dismissive, and that--

Billy didn’t know what to do with that.

Did Steve deserve it? He’s not sure.

He probably deserved to be hit, that much is probably true. Steve didn’t deserve what Billy would have done if Max hadn't been there, though. Steve didn’t deserve to be sidelined for weeks because Billy couldn’t keep his cool under too much pressure. He didn’t deserve the looks he’s been getting in the hallways, or the way that other assholes have been shoving him around because Billy had emboldened them, showed them that it was possible and fun.

Instead of saying any of that, or anything remotely close to any of that, Billy let out a short laugh and said “I gotta say, you really did make a pretty good punching bag, y’know?”

He wasn’t sure why his brain decided that was the right thing to say, but it sure made the urge to hit himself almost impossible to ignore.

He was supposed to be reassuring or some shit, not blurt out vaguely threatening statements.

Though, Billy had to admit, the statement wasn’t necessarily false. Punching Steve had been fun at the time. He bled and fought back just enough before caving under his hands. Pushing Steve around on the court was fun too. It made him feel big and strong, like a giant that could crush the king instantly with one well-placed tap of his foot

When Steve laughed, it shocked Billy enough to make him really look at Steve for the first time in a while. His smile seemed genuine, the off-ness was still clearly there, but the smile itself was more real than what he’s seen on him in a while. His smile was all teeth as he said, “Good to know there’s something out there that the great Billy Hargrove thinks I’m good at.”

He said Billy’s name just like Billy used to say his, his tone cruel and detached, but his face was all wrong.

Steve’s eyes should have been set in a cold glare, trying to make Billy feel small. instead, Steve’s eyes were wild, like saying the statement out loud validated him. Steve should have been smirking, he should have been trying to make Billy feel threatened, like he wasn't going to be ‘great’ for very long. Instead, Steve was smiling. He smiled wide, showing teeth like this was a joke between him and Billy as friends, as though the mess on his face wasn’t because of him.

“The great Billy Hargrove, huh?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” Steve said, taking a step forward and bringing himself even closer to him, “You’re the king now, my guy. Hope that title treats you better than it treated me.”

Billy felt trapped there, stuck staring into Steve’s eyes and hanging on his words, as if they actually meant anything.

As if they meant everything.

He snapped out of that trance and took a step back so fast, he found himself stumbling.

Something was off with him, and Billy was sure of that. Part of Billy wanted to think that it was him that fucked him up. Part of him wanted to believe that when he slammed Steve’s head onto the ground, something broke through his skin, seeped all the way into his brain and caused whatever else makes him give off this kind of vibe.

Another part of Billy had sick feeling that Steve was probably like this long before Billy came to town.  

Then Steve’s eyes were trailing down Billy’s face, and all he could do was watch, not that he minded the view. He watched Steve’s eyes make their way to his lips. He watched Steve’s tongue peek out to dampen his lower lip, and Billy smirked. Steve might be ‘off’ in the same way he is too, and ain’t that a fun fact. “See ya around, Harrington,” he said, turning around and walking away.

He could have sworn that he heard “I sure hope so,” coming from behind him, but that was probably just his imagination.

No way Harrington was that bad off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey there guys, i hope you enjoyed that! i don't actually write in billy's point of view as often as i'd like to, but here i am Fixing that!!
> 
> the fic title and the chapter titles are all going to be taken from "wires" by The Neighbourhood because i came up with the plot for this story while listening to that song on repeat (and that should give you a hint on how things in here are going to end up going, *insert that one eyes emoji*)
> 
> if you wanna see more bullshit out of me, i'm @pretendimstraight over on tumblr too!!
> 
> *chapter has been edited 12.5.18


	2. you knew the game and played it

It seemed like Steve was taking that “see you around” Billy said literally, because, after that apology, it was like Steve was specifically looking for Billy.

It was like he was always trying to find him in hallways and watching him like a hawk in basketball practice. Even when Steve got cleared to join the game again, he didn’t back off from Billy’s excessively touchy version of blocking anymore. If anything, it made Steve play harder than what Billy had seen him do before. Now, he’d smirk whenever Billy plastered himself against his back, pushing back and standing his ground instead of pulling away. It made Billy’s stomach swirl and something in his chest feel heavy every time.

He was acting like he and Billy were friends, or something.

The idea of being friends with Harrington wasn’t all that bad, Billy would be able to handle that much, if that were all that was going on, but it wasn’t.

Not only was Steve always looking for Billy, but he was also always looking at Billy. If he felt the itch of eyes on him at any time during the school day, there was a good chance that it was because Harrington was staring. Billy can’t help but eye contact with him across the hallway all the time. Sometimes Steve just stares, watching Billy walk from place to place like he’s watching his favorite animal at the zoo. Other times Steve smiles and looks at Billy pointedly, like he’s having a one-sided conversation that Billy can’t tune into.

If he had to guess what it would be about, he has a gut feeling that Steve’s challenging Billy to do something.

What Steve wanted him to do, he wasn’t exactly sure, but, whatever it was, Steve wanted it bad. The thought of doing anything at all with Steve made his head swim in images of bruises and blood and that stupid fucking smile. He can’t stop thinking about all the different ways he sees Steve smile at him, and it’s so fucking stupid.

Every now and then, Steve smiles at him like someone would smile at a long-lost friend, top row of teeth showing and eyes squinting a bit. He’d wave at Billy or nod his head in his direction in a hello, no matter who’s around him at the time. Billy has gotten his fair share of ugly looks given to him from Wheeler, her boyfriend, and Henderson, as well as plenty of confused ones from those who thought him, and Steve were still rivals.

He’s not sure when they stopped being that, not much has changed at all since that apology. He still pushes Steve around roughly and insults him whenever he can. He’s pretty sure Steve might even have bruises on his back from when Billy shoved him on the court from only days ago.

Sometimes, Steve gets this small little smile on his face, one that’s mostly just his lips pulling up with maybe a sliver of front teeth visible. He usually uses that one when Billy catches his eye in the hallway and can’t seem to be the one to break the stare. Steve smiles and ducks his head after a bit, his cheeks coloring a bit before he turns towards his locker, or towards his next class.

That smile always makes Billy’s heart race and the moths in his gut flutter uncontrollably.

Other times, Steve’s smile is a bit wider, more teeth and a glint in his eye, more like the one that was on his face when he called him a “king”.

It’s a smile that Billy would feel comfortable seeing in a mirror but seeing it on Steve’s face in the middle of a crowded hallway makes him want to do something stupid. He imagines himself doing stupid shit like yanking every one of those pearly whites out with his bare hands or pinning Harrington to those nasty lockers and kiss the smirk right off his face in front of everyone. He hasn’t decided on which one he wants more yet, which also confuses him a bit.

Steve smirks at him the same way that he’s smirked at countless girls before, right before he tried to get into their pants.

He doesn’t mind the idea of getting into Steve’s pants. In fact, he’s thought about it plenty of times since he’s met the pretty boy, but that’s dangerous territory. Billy’s pretty sure he’s had enough danger for this month by allowing Maxine to hang out with that Sinclair kid behind his dad’s back, let alone the kind of trouble that comes with that smirk of Steve’s. Billy can handle a bit of sexual tension and flirting though, and if he makes sure to lick his lip more often around Steve and knock him down during practice, just so he can lean over him when he helps him up, it’s not like it’s bothering Steve very much by the looks of it. He’s spent quite a few warm showers behind a locked door thinking about how Steve bites his pretty, pink bottom lip before pulling himself up nowadays.

“Hey man, are you even listening to me?”

Tommy’s voice was nothing short of a whine as Billy’s train of thought veered off its tracks.

“Not even a little bit. What’d you say?” Billy asked, finally turning away from Steve to slam his locker shut before looking at his groupie.

Tommy scoffed and crossed his arms, obviously annoyed by Billy’s lack of interest in whatever he was saying. He looked like a bitch whenever he did that. It always had Billy expecting the “Babe, you never pay attention to me” speech that a few chicks had given him in the past.

“Long story short, I said that Harrington’s throwing some sort of party this weekend. He invited some of Carol’s friends,” Tommy said with a sigh, nodding to where Billy had just worked up the nerve to look away from.

Glancing back at Steve, Billy saw that he was talking to a few girls in their English class. He still had that smirk on his face but that glint in his eye that was present when he was staring back at Billy was gone.

Thinking about what that could mean had those flutters in his stomach kicking up again, so he looked away. “Is his gang of lost boys gonna be there?” he said with a snort, thinking of the group of pre-teens that he’s spotted climbing into the backseat of Steve’s car countless times before.

“Doesn’t sound like it. I heard he even got real moonshine too, not just the cheap shit and the kegs,” Tommy sounded genuinely excited at the idea of going to Harrington’s, and Billy was reminded once more of just how infatuated his ‘friend’ was with the guy.

Billy took a moment to really look at Tommy, who was currently staring off in Steve’s direction. For someone who got cut out of Steve’s life as rudely as he’d described it, Tommy sure as hell acted like Steve was some ex-boyfriend that he was desperate to reconnect with. He took a moment to consider the idea and how much it would explain about his actions when Tommy was suddenly looking back at him.

He cleared his throat, and blinked away images of Tommy swallowing around Steve’s dick before replying, “Moonshine, huh? I’ve never had it-“

He was interrupted by Tommy passionately declaring how ‘fucking great’ the stuff is, and that Billy ‘just had to try it’. He rolled his eyes and was about to tell the other boy to shut up when he felt the familiar tingle down his spine that came with someone staring at the back of his head.

“I guess we’ll have to crash King Steve’s party to get me some,” He affirmed, no doubt in his mind that he was going to be at Harrington’s house for that party whether Tommy changed his mind about the party or not.

Luckily though, that didn’t seem like it was going to be the case. If the way that Tommy’s eyes lit up was anything to go by, Billy would say that he was just as excited to go to this party as he was.

He chuckled and slapped a hand down onto Tommy’s shoulder with a smirk. “Who knows, Tommy boy, maybe Harrington will get drunk enough and you could suck his dick just like the good old days, right?” he said, his voice coated with saccharine sweetness as he watched the pale spaces between Tommy’s freckles get filled in with red.

Tommy shoved his arm away roughly, glaring up at Billy, “Shut up, asshole. I’m not a fag.”

Billy shrugged, smirk turning up a bit more at the corners as he tried not to laugh at Tommy’s reaction. “No one’s a fag as long as you’re drunk enough, dipshit,” He argued, faux-confidence clear in his tone.

“Oh really?”

He tensed as he heard the voice speak up behind him but was able to contain most of his shock at being overheard.

Tommy, on the other hand, had gone even more red than before, his eyes glancing up at the man standing behind Billy as if he were both afraid and hoping to be killed by him.

Billy turned around slowly, catching Steve’s eye almost immediately. It was like second nature to have these little staring contests with him, and now is no different than any other time.

“Yes really, Harrington.”

“Even you, Hargrove? You go a little queer when you’ve got enough fuel in you?” Steve proposed, and to Tommy it probably sounded harsh, like Steve was looking for a fight, but Billy knew better.

He was looking at Billy with clear intent in his gaze, the same way Billy has caught him doing when they’re in the showers after practice or when he’s absent-mindedly sucking on the end of his pen in class. Steve’s word’s may be pointed, trying to get a rise out of Billy, but not the rise Tommy’s imagining.

Billy picked up his shoulder in a half-shrug, brushing off Steve’s words with a nonchalance that he couldn’t really feel, “I’ve never needed to. Like I told you before, plenty of bitches in the sea. What about you, Harrington?”

Steve let out a short, quiet laugh that had Billy’s insides twisting and reminded him of just how that same vibe from a few weeks ago all over again. He ignored the feeling in favor of watching Steve’s gaze shift over to Tommy almost lazily. He could tell that Tommy was practically shaking behind him as Steve’s eyes scanned their way down the boy’s body slowly, but Billy refused to turn and check.

Something about it had Billy’s blood flowing like lava through his veins. It was wrong. What Steve was doing was wrong. They were in the middle of the hallway. They were in the middle of a hallway in a small town in Indiana. What Steve was doing was stupid and dangerous.

Most importantly, it was wrong because he shouldn’t be looking at Tommy like that when Billy was standing right there.

He was obviously a much better choice of partner to eye-fuck than Tommy, and he was sure of that. Especially since Steve has no problem doing it from across the hallway. He shouldn’t have a problem doing it now, while they were face to face.

After what felt like an hour, Steve was looking back at him, eyes wild and blazing, “Depends on who we’re talkin’ about,” he said, voice low but clear as day as he winked at Billy.

Billy could feel his blood start to rush south as he clenched his fist at his sides. “You saying you’re a fuckin’ fairy, Steve-o?” he spat out through grit teeth, swallowing down what felt like a growl building in his chest.

Steve laughed, bitter and harsh, but not as mean as it should have been. He placed his hand down on Billy’s shoulder and Billy could have sworn that Steve was burning just as hot as him, even through the jean jacket and his t-shirt.

“No one’s a fag if you’re drunk enough though, right Billy?” Steve murmured, eyes darting between Billy and Tommy and that stupid smirk back on his face.

Before either of them could come up with a reply, Steve was pushing away from Billy’s shoulder and heading off towards where Nancy and Byers were standing at a nearby water fountain.

Billy let out a breath that he wasn’t even aware that he was holding, and unclenched his fists. He turned back to Tommy, ready to kick his ass for just about any reason when he realized that Tommy looked just as affected as Billy felt. Tommy cleared his throat, and muttered, “Don’t let him get to ya, man. Told ya he’s an asshole. See you at practice,” and practically ran away from the lockers as the bell rang.

Billy watched Steve hug a smiling Nancy tight against him, kissing her cheek in a friendly sort of way. He watched Steve clap a hand onto Jonathan’s shoulder after letting her go. He even watched the way Steve’s eyes shot back to look at him as he did it.

He thought back to that night, the one he apologized for and that, to an extent, started all this nonsense. He thought back to what he said.

Back then, he was full of rage and fueled by the warm path his blood was making down to his lip, but now the thought is fueled by something else, something much more worrisome than just rage.

“You’ve got some fire in you after all,” was all that ran through his mind as he turned to walk to class, trying to ignore the tingling feeling that Steve’s hand on his shoulder left behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry that it might seem like not much is actually happening in this. i swear that more interesting things are going to be happening soon! (for those of you that read this before i edited it, i lied: it was not soon at all) 
> 
> but ooh!! tommy has a hate boner for steve too? that's pretty nice, huh? (or maybe it's just a normal boner, i don't blame him either way)
> 
> as always, i'm on tumblr @pretendimstraight and you should totally talk to me sometime! whether it's telling me how hot you think billiam hargrove is or how much you hate that hellsite in general, my ask box is always open!
> 
> *chapter has been edited 12.5.18


End file.
